A Florida woman has been taken into custody on charges of child neglect after being left in charge of her girlfriend’s young son.

Deniqua Lovett, 34, was arrested by Miramar Police on December 28, 2025, under suspicion of child neglect resulting in great bodily harm. Following her arrest, she was released on bond. According to an arrest warrant obtained by Law&Crime, the boy sustained multiple injuries while under Lovett’s care, requiring hospitalization and intensive medical attention.

Authorities reported that Lovett offered her girlfriend various explanations regarding the boy’s injuries, which included a broken arm, fractured ribs, and numerous bruises.

The incident came to the attention of law enforcement when medical staff at Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital in Hollywood, Florida, alerted the Miramar Police Department. The child was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit on September 4, 2025, after his mother brought him in with noticeable swelling on his head and elbow. She attributed these injuries to a fall from a playground slide.

However, upon examination, medical professionals discovered the boy had a broken elbow, several rib fractures in various stages of healing, a traumatic hematoma on his head, and elevated liver enzymes. These findings necessitated further medical intervention and assessment at the children’s hospital.

In conversations with the police, the boy’s mother revealed that Lovett had informed her about the fall while she was at work. Lovett reportedly told her that the boy “went down the slide differently and fell off” its side, which she relayed upon picking her up from work that day, according to the affidavit.

According to the affidavit, police reviewed surveillance video of the playground from Sept. 3 and 4, 2025. Police did not see Lovett or the boy on the footage either day; it was also reportedly raining on Sept. 3, 2025.

The rib fractures also allegedly occurred when the boy was in Lovett’s care. Police said Lovett told the boy’s mother that he “fell behind the bed” while playing on it. Lovett told police that the alleged incident on the bed happened in July 2025.

Among the boy’s numerous injuries were burns near his ear. When asked by police about the burns, Lovett said that she “accidentally” burned the boy’s ear while using a “hot comb” on his hair.

An orthopedic surgeon who performed surgery on the boy’s elbow told police that the elbow injury was likely sustained at least two days before the boy was brought to the emergency room. Police said medical staff conducted a skeletal survey on the boy and found several other healed fractures to his collarbone, forearm, and knee. Such injuries, the doctors said, “are consistent with non-accidental trauma.”

Authorities placed the boy in the custody of his mother’s aunt.

Lovett was arrested on Dec. 28, 2025, and charged with child neglect with great bodily harm. At a hearing on Monday, her bond was set at $100,000, which she posted. Her next court date has not been made public.